If you want to play golf, just grab your clubs and some friends and head out to the course, right?
There’s much more to how you can actually play golf than that. Most just go on the course in an “every man for himself” type of structure but understanding these other forms of play can actually help with your enjoyment of the game itself.
Match play
In what is called match play, two players (or two teams) play each hole as a separate contest against each other. The party with the lower score wins that hole, or if the scores of both players or teams are equal the hole is “halved” (tied).
Match play is won by the person or team that wins more holes than the other, regardless of the actual stroke numbers. If one person or team has taken a lead that can’t be overcome by the other team in the remaining number of holes, the match is declared won by the dominating team. “Dormie” refers to when the lead is equal to the number of holes remaining and in this case play continues until the winning team has enough holes to be declared the winner, or until the other team overtakes them for the lead.
Stroke play
Stroke play is the most commonly played form of golf, even for tournaments. Players compete against each other with their own score or number of strokes for the entire game.
In tournament play, if there is a tie at the end of the game then there is a playoff between all the tied players. This playoff might be sudden death or may go for a predetermined number of holes, anywhere from three to eighteen with the player achieving the lowest score then declared the winter.
Skins
Many tournaments are played in skins format, where golfers compete on each hole as a type of separate contest in of itself. Prize money is assigned to each hole and this money is carried over if the hole is tied. There are no real winners or losers in skins play, just a rundown of the prize money won by each player.
Team play
Team play seems pretty self-explanatory; rather than competing individually, you form teams and these play against one another. There are different ways of forming teams and scoring, as follows:
- According to the USGA, a foursome is two teams of two players each and each team has one ball between them. They alternate playing it. Foursomes can be played as match play or stroke play.
- A four-ball foursome means that each player has his or her own ball and the lower score on each hole is counted. Four-ball can be played as match play or stroke play.
- In scramble play, each player tees off on every hole and the players then decide which shot was the best; each player then plays his or her second shot from within a club length of this ball. This procedure is repeated until the hole is finished.
Realizing these different ways of playing golf can add some fun and excitement to your game as you try new challenges with your fellow players.
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